When You Least Expect It
by boswifedeb
Summary: While helping to rescue two students stranded at the bottom of a canyon, Matt finds a body. The identification of the body sets a series of events into motion, bringing in an enemy with nothing to lose and 150,000 to gain. **Immediately follows "Deceived & Deceased"** Rated T.
1. Chapter 1

"**When You Least Expect It"**

****This story immediately follows "Deceived and Deceased"****

"**At his best, man is the noblest of all animals;**

**separated from law and justice he is the worst."**

**Aristotle**

**CHAPTER 1**

"Oh come on, Hoyt! Will you ever quit?" Matt Houston rolled his eyes and looked back at the traffic.

"No, not until you get that damn camera out of my office. Enough is enough. I'll arrest you if you don't get it out of there."

Matt laughed. "On what charge? Causing a paranoid cop to become more paranoid? Gees, bud, you need some counseling. There is no camera. Look, I know you're upset about the car, but really, you were just complaining about it this morning, remember? It's not your car and what happened wasn't your fault." He got quiet for a moment and could see that Michael was still seething. Although he tried his best, the private eye couldn't help but chuckle.

"I'm glad you find the destruction of a police vehicle so amusing." Hoyt shot him a dirty look.

"No, it's not the destruction that's funny…the expression on your face when the cement mixer just rolled right over the top of it…" He dissolved in laughter again. "Now that was funny. Come on, man – maybe the car gods heard you cussing a blue streak at it this morning."

"Car gods?! Seriously?!" The cop shook his head. The hand-held police radio beeped and came to life on the seat of Matt's truck.

"Attention all units in the vicinity of Griffith Park: 10-46 auto accident with injuries; northern hiking trail just off of Vista del Valle inside Griffith Park, respond code 3, children involved. Responding units please reply." The pair looked at each other.

"Michael, we're almost on top of it." Hoyt nodded and responded to the dispatcher as Matt turned right onto North Commonwealth, then right again on Vista del Valle. "Larry just replied, too. Looks like we'll be in good company." Matt was referring to longtime LAPD Sgt. Larry Carlisle, a friend of both Matt and Hoyt.

"From the sound of it he's just ahead of us." Michael braced himself as Matt took the curvy road a little faster than what he was comfortable with and glanced over at the man. The laughter and cutting up were gone from his face, replaced by concern. He slowed down slightly at the hairpin turn but was accelerating once again at the midpoint of the curve. Michael kept quiet, secretly impressed at how well his friend was executing the twisty roadway.

"See if you can get any other details on where they are, would you?" Matt was trying to move as fast as possible while keeping an eye out on the rugged terrain around them. Steeply sloping walls of the canyon dropped away on both sides of the road.

"Lieutenant, they say they're near the footbridge on the hiking trail as it heads north; the driver ran off the road right before the bridge."

"10-4." Hoyt nodded. "We're almost there." Within seconds they spotted Larry Carlisle who turned off onto the hiking trail followed immediately by Matt. Both vehicles skidded to a stop when they saw the scene. There in front of them was part of a day-camp group of what appeared to be between eight and twelve years old, some standing there crying while others tended to injured classmates. The three officers and Matt jumped out of their vehicles as one of the teachers approached them.

"We've got a teacher and three students over the side here and at least one person in the car. Two of them appear to be unconscious." She was doing her best to keep her cool under the circumstances but she was obviously shaken.

Matt looked over the edge of the canyon and saw two of the students trying to care for their injured classmate and the teacher. He turned back to his truck and quickly pulled the nose of it within three feet of the edge before opening up the tool box in the back to retrieve some rope. While Michael called to see what the fire department's ETA was, the former Army Special Forces captain began rigging up a harness with the rope and was about to attach it to the winch on the front of his truck. Larry and his partner were giving first aid to some of the students who seemed to be in the worst shape. "Houston, the fire department is about five minutes out. Maybe you should hold off."

Houston shook his head no. "We don't have that long…there's smoke coming out of the hood." He started on down the slope, the winch feeding out the cable to him. In a minute he had reached the injured hikers. After checking the two who appeared unconscious he pulled out his cell phone and called Michael. Turning his back to the two girls he quietly spoke. "We've got two dead down here. I'm going to go ahead and bring these girls up before I check on the driver…from what I can see I'd say anyone in the car is dead, too."

Turning to the two scared young girls he tried to stay as calm as possible. "What's your name, darlin'?" He looked at the smaller of the two.

"Marissa." She was doing her best not to cry.

"I'm Katrina." The older girl tried to give him a smile which he returned.

"Okay, my name is Matt. But all my friends call me Houston. Now here's what we're gonna do. Marissa, since you're the shorter person here, I want you to come over here and put your arms around my neck and then we're going to get Katrina to piggy back. Then I'm gonna wrap this rope around both of your waists."

Marissa squinted up at him. "Then what?"

"Then the Dream Truck is going to pull us up this hill." He gave her another grin. "Okay, here we go." Both girls did what he had told them to do and he signaled Michael to hit the switch on the winch. Slowly they started up the hill and got to the top and the waiting arms of their teacher. As soon as he had the two girls untied, Matt took a fire extinguisher from Michael and went back down the slope to the car. Hitting the small fire that had started under the hood, the PI put out the flames. He could only see one person in the vehicle. After looking around the area and under the car he came to the conclusion that the young man driving the car, who was now deceased, had been alone. Matt looked around a little more before heading back up the hill.

"Houston, what about Miss Caroline?" Marissa tugged on his arm.

Matt looked at Hoyt and the teacher before kneeling down in front of the girl. "I'm sorry, hon. We need to leave them where they are right now. There's nothing we can do for them." She nodded and then the tears started and she flew into Matt's arms. "Easy now. What about you? We need to make sure you're okay, too, alright? Calm down for me now. You've got a pretty big goose egg coming up on your head. Let's get you two ladies over here with your friends so you can get checked when the paramedics get here." He carried Marissa and Katrina was holding his hand, now also crying.

After getting both of the girls calmed down Matt helped Larry and his new rookie partner Tim with bandaging some of the cuts and scrapes that the kids had gotten. Hoyt was interviewing the teacher and some of the students who hadn't been hurt. After finishing up with the first aid, he walked back over to his truck where Michael was taking statements.

"So we were just hiking up the trail and all of a sudden he comes tearing up the road. I guess he thought the trail was a road when he turned off. He veered to the right and the back end of the car got out of control and slid into Caroline, Katrina, Marissa, and poor little Isaiah." She started to cry and several of the students gathered around her trying to comfort her.

Matt tapped Michael on the arm and motioned to the front of the truck. "I didn't want to say anything in front of her or the kids, but there's another body down there."

Hoyt looked down toward the car but couldn't see anyone else. "In the car?"

"No." Matt shook his head. "From the looks of it it's been there a while. Looks like a woman."

"Alright." The detective pulled out his cell phone and called in the report, asking that another vehicle from the Coroner's office be sent out.

The EMT's had shown up and began transporting the injured to the hospital. Before they were loaded into the ambulance, Katrina and Marissa asked Larry to call Matt over so they could thank him, each giving the PI a big hug. Larry winked at Houston. "There ya go again. Guess I'm gonna have to have a talk with CJ. Got girls hanging all over you just like in the old days."

"You'd hate to be jealous, Larry." Matt grinned then got serious. "We've got another body down there – one that's been there for a while."

"Oh, gees. Like this wasn't bad enough." The veteran cop looked over the edge of the canyon.

Matt moved his truck so that they could tie off to one of the fire trucks and use the rappelling gear to go back down to look at the scene. After putting on one of the harnesses and helping Michael to get strapped in, he led the way down. "So I guess you get two batches of paperwork today, huh?"

"Don't you think my day has been bad enough? First my car gets flattened by a cement mixer, then we have to work this accident, and now you find another body. I knew I should have ridden back with Jenkins." He cursed as he tried to get the rope loose from the d-link.

"Hang on a minute before you strangle yourself." Trying hard not to chuckle, Matt helped his friend get loose from the climbing gear and then looked over at the broken body of Isaiah and sadly shook his head. "I hope that kid never knew what hit him."

"You were right, that other one has been here for a while. Don't guess she'll mind waiting a little longer."

"Look out below!" A familiar voice was heard from up above as Cheryl Crawford started down the hillside.

"You're pretty good at that." Matt helped her release the d-link and picked up her kit as he whispered to her, "Unlike Michael – he's still fussing about getting pinched." They both snickered and then got quiet as the irritable cop turned and shot them a dirty look. "Guess they told you we've got two scenes."

"Uh huh." She pulled out her camera and began taking pictures of the accident scene. "Poor little guy. I just hope he didn't know what hit him."

Matt had walked over to the car and was looking around. "Hey, Michael – there's a gun in here. Looks like a nine mil."

"Okay." He was taking down the plate number. "Can you see the VIN up there?"

The private investigator went down on his belly and looked through the windshield to find the plate on the dashboard and read out the number. He waited as Hoyt called Sanchez to get him to run the vehicle number and plate to see if it was stolen and who the owner was. When he hung up, Matt called out to him. "It looks like this guy was shot in the right side of his chest. There's a pretty good bit of blood in here."

"Great." The detective came over and squatted down next to Matt. "That looks like a bank bag."

"Yep." Moving around to the passenger side of the vehicle, Houston got a closer look. "Valley National." He looked through the car at Michael. "Have there been any bank robberies today?"

"Don't know, but I'm about to find out." Once again he pulled out his cell phone and called Sanchez. A few minutes later he hung up. "Yep. It was the Valley National in the 4500 block of Los Feliz."

"At least that explains his hurry." Matt stood up. They couldn't do much more without Cheryl and the person from the Coroner's office. He looked around and down toward the body that was lying near the floor of the canyon as he pulled out his cell phone. "Hey Babe. Just thought I'd let you know…"

"That you're helping Michael at an accident scene. I know…I can see you on TV." She was looking at the small set in her office and cracked up as her husband looked up at the news helicopter and waved.

"All right then, hello Lil Mama." He chuckled.

"So what's the story there?" She got up and went to the bar for a cup of coffee.

"Well, some guy robbed a bank and was heading up through the park. He ran off the road and onto the hiking trail. Hit four people. Two girls are okay, just shook up and have bumps and bruises. But one little boy and one of the teachers were killed. The guy in the car is dead, too – he's been shot and there's a nine mil in there with him as well as a bank bag. But I also found another body when I came down to get the girls." He turned and looked at the body. "Looks like a woman and she's been here for a while."

"So how is Michael? I also saw what happened to his car on the news." She snickered.

"He's kinda touchy about that." Matt turned away where Hoyt couldn't hear him.

"I don't know why – he was always fussing about it." She laughed.

"I tried to point that out to him. He wasn't having any part of it." He heard someone else coming down the hill. "Guess I better go. The guy from the Coroner's office is here. Love you, Babe."

"You too, Cowboy. 'Bye." She hung up and continued to watch what was happening on the TV.

Matt waited while Cheryl began processing the car and Hoyt walked over to join him. The Coroner's assistant removed the dead man's wallet and opened it up. "Jeremy Anderson." He handed it to Cheryl who bagged it.

"Well, that's his car then." Michael looked at his notebook. "Jeremy Lee Anderson, 29, lived in the 4000 block of Garden Avenue, just east of here. Works on the maintenance crew at the zoo."

"So he was going to work after robbing a bank?" Matt looked at the body of the man as they pulled him out of the car. He and Hoyt stepped over and knelt down to get a closer look at the wound.

"The bank guard took a shot at him but wasn't sure if he hit him or not." Hoyt stood back up.

Matt grunted and stood back up. "So if the ballistics from the guard's gun match up, we know what happened to him. But I wonder about her?" They stepped closer to the edge of the bluff that they were on. There was a drop of about seven feet down to where the other body lay. "Guess we can go on down here now." The PI walked to the edge of the bluff and lowered himself down facing the bluff. As soon as he landed he froze. Very calmly he spoke to Hoyt. "Michael…" He slowly reached behind him. "Don't be alarmed…I'm about to fire a shot, okay?" Slowly, he stepped back a couple of steps as he drew out his Glock.

"What?!" It was then that the detective heard the sound of a rattlesnake. "Oh, my God. Okay. Everybody step back." As soon as the words left his mouth there was a gunshot. He walked back over to the edge.

"Not yet, Pard. Step back." Matt had the pistol leveled again and the rattling sound could still be heard.

"Oh, Jesus." The cop quietly stepped back as the crew of firemen, reporters, and cops up at the top of the slope were getting alarmed. Three more shots rang out. Hoyt held his breath. He could just see the top of his friend's head moving slowly as he searched the rocks for more snakes.

"Okay, we're good." Matt replaced the gun in the waistband of his jeans.

"Are you sure?" Hoyt looked downward.

"Yep." Matt continued to look around the area as Michael eased himself down the bluff.

Cheryl stuck her head over the side. "I don't do snakes, Houston. Please make sure there aren't any more down there."

"No, I think that took care of them. Hand me your case." He reached up as she lowered it to him. "Alright, now look about three feet below you. See that rock jutting out there? Use it for a step." He stood by while the CSI tech lowered herself down but then her foot slipped and she started to fall. Matt caught her and set her on her feet.

"Phew! Thanks! I thought I was gonna bust my butt for sure." She took a deep breath and steadied herself before squatting down and removing her camera from the case. "As long as she's been down here I doubt if we're going to find any footprints – other than our own." Cheryl started snapping pictures of the body and the area, carefully looking around as she did so.

The Coroner's assistant came to the edge of the bluff looking slightly nervous. "Are they gone?"

"Nope, they're still here but they've sure got hangovers." Matt looked up at the bespectacled young man who gave a nervous laugh as he began climbing down. Once he stood back up straight and saw the snakes he started to pale.

"Ever had snake steak?" Matt clapped him on the back.

"No, and I don't think I ever will." He turned to look at the body and as soon as Cheryl was done photographing the scene, he stepped over and began examining it. "Well I can't be sure at this point but she's got injuries that look consistent with a fall. And there is a good bit of blood on the clothing…I'd say it's possible that she was thrown down here and died from her injuries." After they had worked the scene and the body was placed in a body bag and hauled up to the top, Matt and Michael got back into the truck and took off, with reporters trailing after them.


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER 2**

Back at the station, Matt hijacked Sanchez's computer to run a check on the dead bank robber while Michael started on the paperwork. While the young cop looked over his shoulder, the private eye jotted down what he found and then headed into Michael's office. He sat down in the chair in front of the tired detective's desk and waited until he looked up. "Did you find anything else on him?"

"Yep. It wasn't his first rodeo. He got busted for driving the getaway car in a botched bank job when he was eighteen. Served six years at Lancaster and went to work for the zoo when he got out. According to his parole officer's notes he has an uncle who works there."

Michael shook his head and pulled two Tylenol out of the bottle in the top right drawer of his desk and swallowed them with coffee. "You know that boy was eight years old?" Matt nodded. The cop sighed. "I swear…I think when I get my twenty in I'm going to retire."

"I wouldn't blame you." The private eye took a sip of coffee. "Who's doing the notifications?"

"The chaplain is taking the boy's parents and Jenkins is notifying the teacher's husband."

"What about Anderson?"

The cop sighed. "I guess I'll have to do it. Everybody else is busy. Damn!" He picked up his phone and called down to the motor pool to request another car. "What do you mean you don't have one available?"

"I'll take you." Matt swallowed the last of his coffee and threw the cup in the trash.

"But you WILL have one in the morning, correct?" He paused. "Okay. Thanks." Hanging up he looked over at Matt. "Are you sure it won't put you out?"

"Yeah, I'm sure. Come on." He got up and opened the door and held it for his friend. As they boarded the elevator Matt shook his head.

"What?"

"You have had a rotten day, bud."

"Yeah, I have. But it's almost over."

"It ain't over till it's over."

As they headed back up toward the zoo which was located on the northeastern side of Griffith Park neither man had much to say. Finally, Michael heaved a big sigh. "So how is Miss Catey Rose doing?"

"She's fat and sassy." Matt smiled proudly. Catey was now fourteen weeks old and had quite the personality. She loved to laugh and jabber at everyone. "Here we are." Matt parked in the lot and they headed for the gate. Hoyt flashed his badge and informed the cashier that he needed to speak with James Anderson. Looking somewhat shocked, she dialed the extension for park maintenance and was told to send the two men to the office located near the back of the park. Once there, they were met by James Anderson. The minute he saw Hoyt's badge, Anderson asked, "What did Jeremy do this time?"

"Mr. Anderson, I'm sorry to inform you that your nephew was killed in an automobile accident earlier today." He went on to explain what had happened.

"And he killed a little boy and a teacher?" The man shook his head. "I tried with that boy, I swear I did. His dad was my brother and the apple didn't fall far from the tree. Ricky, my brother, stayed in trouble. Jeremy was five when Ricky was killed in a bar fight. He was high on cocaine and got into it with a dope dealer. Guy shot him dead. His mom was a good lady, but she passed away when he was thirteen – cancer. He came to live with my wife and me, but he was a handful. Dropped out of school, did drugs, sold drugs, and then got involved with a bank robbery and did time in prison." Anderson looked almost sick. "I knew he wouldn't stay out of trouble but I thought maybe if I could get him a job here…" He paused for a minute. "I'm real sorry about those folks that got killed."

"It isn't your fault, Mr. Anderson. It sounds like you did everything you could for him." After talking with the man for a couple more minutes the two detectives left and headed back for Michael's office. Matt dropped him off in the garage and looked at his watch, deciding that it was time to head home.

The next morning as Matt was on his way into work his cell phone rang. After looking at the caller ID he picked up. "Good morning. Got a car yet?"

"As a matter of fact I do…and it's a nice one, too!" For a change Hoyt sounded happy. "I've also got some information for you on that body that you found yesterday. Very interesting information, I might add."

"Oh – what would that be?" He stopped at a light.

"You've met her before and so have I – not too long ago in fact. Remember the secretary at J. Campbell Masterton, Jr's office? The one that got kind of snooty with us during the Hobart – LaFata case? Her name was Phyllis Eva Wilson."

"That was her?!" Matt couldn't believe his ears. "Okay, how in the heck did she end up there? Do you think Masterton is back in town?" J. Campbell Masterton, Jr. was a pompous lawyer and windbag who had been tied into the planting of a car bomb a few weeks earlier.

"That's what I'm wondering. There haven't been any reports of him from the airport but if he was disguised somewhat they probably wouldn't notice. They're more concerned with someone trying to blow up a plane."

"Yeah…hmmm…so what do you think? Go check out his house and office?"

"Might as well…we don't have anywhere else to look other than her apartment. Want to meet up there?"

"Sure. See you in a few." Matt hung up and then punched CJ's number. "Hey, Michael just called with an ID on that body that we found yesterday." He filled her in on the latest. "If you would, run through Masterton's financials…see if he's tried to pull any money from his accounts. They're frozen, but he might try. Also, see what you can find on Phyllis Eva Wilson."

"I'll sure do it. We're about twenty minutes out. I'll call you if I get a hit on anything. Love you, Cowboy."

"Love you, Babe. 'Bye." Matt hung up and made his way through the morning traffic to Masterton's home on Lake Ridge Drive in the Hollywood Hills area, overlooking the Hollywood Reservoir. He walked around the house and took a look around before Michael pulled up in front. Just as the private eye was making his way back around the side yard a shot rang out. Matt hit the ground, drawing out his pistol, as did Michael, who called for backup.

"Are you hit?"

Matt made it around to the front of the house and was crouched next to the corner. He shook his head no. Hoyt made a run for the house and quickly got beside the private eye. "It's coming from across the reservoir. I bet he's either on the boat dock or the platform over there." Matt was very familiar with the platform. He had rescued CJ and Chris from a rapist and murderer after a gunfight there. The battle with the man, one of the secretary's ex-boyfriends, had taken place about three weeks before CJ became pregnant with Catey. The private eye looked at the breeze blowing the trees. "I'm betting on the platform – the boat dock would be hard to get a good shot from in this wind."

Michael had officers sent to the area on the northeastern end of the reservoir. They radioed in that no one was there, but workers for the Los Angeles Department of Light, Water, and Power had reported seeing a man in the area shortly before the shots were fired. There was no sign of him anywhere. When they were given the all clear, Matt's first move was to go to the truck and pull out his bullet proof vest. Michael did the same. The PI breathed a sigh of relief when they stepped inside the house. "Are you sure you're okay?" Michael knew it took a lot to shake up his friend.

"Yeah. Getting shot at just isn't my idea of how to start the day." The two detectives began searching through the house. "You know, Masterton built the bomb that was placed on LaFata's car…" Matt turned and looked at Hoyt. "I think we better be extremely careful."

"Uh huh." The pair went through the house which appeared to have been empty since the lawyer left the country a few weeks before. When they got to the garage where the bomb had been built both were relieved not to see any evidence that another was in the works.

Just as they were about to leave, Matt caught something out of the corner of his eye. "Michael…" He pointed to a workbench on the far end of the wall. There in the center of it was a dust void where something had been moved and there was a pile of dust in the floor in front of it. "It was probably something heavy…see? He slid it." Hoyt nodded. "I don't recall anything being there when I came here while I was working the Hobart – LaFata case. We can look at the pictures in the file when we get back to the office." Matt nodded. Nothing else seemed disturbed and they left.

Back at the station, Matt's phone ring. "Yeah Babe, whatcha got?" He punched the speaker button.

"It looks like Masterton made an attempt to withdraw money from one of his accounts. He was in Honolulu. That was a week ago."

"So it sounds like he might be running a little short." Matt nodded.

"I've also been looking into the Wilson woman. She was forty, lived in an apartment on Silver Lake Boulevard at the Silver Lake Gardens complex. Never married and as far as I've been able to see she has one living relative – a sister who lives in New York. Would you like the number, Michael?"

"Please." He jotted it down. "And what was her name?"

"Patricia Elise Wilson. Apparently neither one ever married."

"With the personality that she had I can see why…and that would also explain the romance novel." Matt snickered as did Hoyt.

"Romance novel?" CJ had no idea what they were talking about. Matt filled her in on their visit to the lawyer's office a few weeks before. "Hmmm, reading romance novels at work…that's an idea. But then we never would get any work done would we?" She gave a laugh as Michael started to stammer and Matt completely cracked up.

"Anything else?"

"I also ran a check on her financials…and I believe it paid off. It seems that Masterton moved about $20,000 to his secretary's personal account the day he left town. Three days later it was spent – on a cashier's check to LeBron Dupree on the island of Bairiki in the Atolls."

"So now we know where he disappeared to then." Everyone was silent for a moment. "Okay, thanks Babe."

"So you aren't going to tell me about getting shot at this morning, huh?"

The two detectives exchanged a look. "Well, I just hadn't had the chance yet." Matt rolled his eyes.

"Don't roll your eyes at me, Matt. That's rude."

"Damn it, Houston! Get that camera outta here – now!"

"Thanks a lot, CJ, now he's on the camera crusade again." Matt said it as sarcastically as possible.

"You're very welcome. Make sure you wear your vest if you go looking for him anymore today, okay?"

"I will, Babe. Love you. 'Bye." He hung up and looked over at Michael who was glaring at him. "There is no camera. Now, I think we need to go see about Wilson's apartment and Masterton's office. Come on."

Grumbling, the lieutenant got up and followed Matt out of the office and out into the hallway. Matt punched the button for the elevator and they waited…and waited, with Hoyt grumbling the whole time. Finally the PI had had enough and grabbed the cop by the arm and drug him toward the stairwell. "C'mon Gramps."

"Gramps?! Do not even…" He swatted at the PI who took off down the stairs laughing.

"Are we going in your car or the truck?" Matt had stopped to pull his vest and Glock out of his truck.

"My car! Get in there!" Hoyt was still fuming.

After Matt got in and fastened his seatbelt he looked around the vehicle. "Boy, this one is a lot nicer than the other one. And it doesn't have that smell…"

"What smell?" Hoyt dropped the car into gear and headed out of the parking garage.

"You know…that OLD smell." Matt gave his friend the crooked grin and cocked head routine.

"Shut…the hell…up." Hoyt shook his head and continued grumbling under his breath as the PI looked out the passenger window and tried not to laugh.


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER 3**

When Michael and Matt arrived at the apartment of Phyllis Wilson, both men wearing their vests, they went to the property manager's office. Giselle Bronson was more than happy to tell the two detectives everything that she knew about Wilson, which as it turned out wasn't much. After being let into the apartment, Hoyt told her that they would fill her in on what they found as soon as they were through. Both men breathed a sigh of relief when she left and headed back down to the office. As he put on a pair of gloves and started back toward the bedroom, Matt chuckled. "You better not be laughing about the car…or that damn camera – WHICH BETTER BE OUT OF MY OFFICE BY FOUR PM TODAY!"

"Shhh." Matt held a finger up to his lips.

Whispering, Michael got quiet. "What did you hear?"

"Nothing." The PI cracked up again as he started looking around the secretary's bedroom.

"I swear I'm gonna…ARRGGHH!" The cop turned and went toward the closet, cursing the private eye under his breath.

"Michael…"

"Don't even talk to me."

"I found another checkbook…this is not the account CJ was talking about." That got the cop's attention and he walked back over to Matt's side. "It's a savings account that was opened last week. The first deposit was $9,000." They exchanged a look. "I'm going to check her computer. Maybe there's an email or something that ties in with this."

"And I'm going to see about her phone records." Hoyt dropped the checkbook into an evidence bag and pulled out his cell phone to get Sanchez working on that job for him.

Sitting down at the desk in the bedroom, Matt began going through the records on the computer. Nothing even vaguely interesting was in the documents or pictures files. Just on a hunch, he opened the music files. "Ah hah…she was trying to be tricky." He punched a few more buttons. "She was hiding document files in the music section. And…now I see why." Hoyt walked back over and was looking over his shoulder. Pointing to the screen, the PI showed the cop what he had found. "These are online banking statements. You can see here that up until two weeks ago she'd been sending money to LeBron Dupree…what do you want to bet that's the doc's alias? And you know, he would have to have a fake passport to get into the country."

"He would at that." Michael pulled out his cell phone and called to have the immigration records checked for that name and hung up after being told that he would be notified as soon as the computers came back online. "Terrific…you would think their computers would be reliable."

"No computer is always reliable…well, except for BABY." He grinned. "Let's see what else she has in here…" He had finished with the music files and went to the video files. "Oh goody…blech! Not what I wanted to see." Hoyt's reaction was more of a gagging sound. "I don't know who that poor fella is but…oh, that's who." He and Michael realized at the same time that it was none other than J. Campbell Masterton, Jr. "Umph…well, all I can say is she must have gotten some ideas from the romance novels. Ick." He gave a shiver and then went through the rest of the files. "You know, the camera angles on here are…son of a gun…I think she was blackmailing him."

Matt stood up and walked across to the southern side of the room and looked up at the air vent. He reached up and removed the cover and retrieved a video camera. Taking it over to the desk, he hooked it up to the computer. "No files. Guess she already downloaded everything." He looked back at one of the files and then walked over to the bed, dropping down to the carpet on one knee and looked underneath. "Yep, she's still got the equipment under here. Yuck." He stood back up. "Are we taking this with us?" He pointed to the computer.

"Definitely." Michael shook his head. "So that right there might be the motive behind her murder." His cell phone rang. "Hoyt. Yeah Sanchez. Okay…alright, thanks." He hung up. "The ME's report came back on Wilson. Looks like she was tossed out of a moving vehicle and died from the injuries a short time later. That's why there was so much blood on the clothing."

Matt nodded. "Guess we better continue to look around here." He walked across to the dresser and started looking through, then stopped. "Do you know if she had a car?"

"No, but we're about to find out." He called Sanchez back and got him to run a search. "No vehicle was registered to her."

"I wonder what he was driving when he dumped her? His car is sitting in the impound lot. We need to check with the rental car companies – see if he rented one as Dupree." The private eye continued digging through the dresser but other than some lingerie that he had absolutely no desire to see, he didn't find anything else that would prove to be useful.

Michael had moved on to the bathroom and was looking through the medicine cabinet. "Looks like Masterton was here on a fairly regular basis." He held up a bottle of pills. "Viagra."

"Mph." Matt looked around then headed into the kitchen, and didn't find anything interesting so he moved back to the living room as Michael headed that way with the computer in his arms. After a quick look through her DVD collection and a look around, they decided that they were done and headed back out to the car. After putting the computer into the trunk and managing to leave before the property manager could pump them for information, the pair headed to Masterton's office. As he drove, Hoyt called Sanchez once again and told him to check on the rental car angle.

The pair pulled up to the office building where Masterton's law practice was located. After listening to Michael get the run-around from the property management company on the phone, Matt told him to end the call as he reached back into his left rear pocket and removed a set of lock picks. Hoyt looked down the hallway to make sure no one was headed their way as Matt squatted down and got a good look at the lock. After spending a few seconds looking through the collection of picks, he pulled one out and in just a matter of seconds the door was open and the alarm was beeping. The PI crossed over to the panel located on the wall behind Phyllis Wilson's desk and after flipping open the cover, had the alarm deactivated in a couple of seconds. Hoyt shook his head. "You would have made one hell of a thief."

Matt just grinned. "I'll start with the computer out here." He plopped down in the chair and turned on the computer as Michael turned to open the lateral file that was against the wall.

"It's locked." Matt pulled out the case of picks and started to hand them to Hoyt who just looked at him.

"Have you ever picked a lock?" The PI swiveled around in the desk chair.

"Once…on Sister Mary Katherine's office when I was in eighth grade…" He looked guilty and Matt cracked up. "I made a really bad grade on an English test. My mom would have killed me." Houston continued to grin and had the cabinet open in short order, returning the picks to his back pocket before swiveling back around to look through the computer files.

"It looks like somebody tried to access the bank accounts from here – yesterday." He tapped on the monitor. "11:23 yesterday morning to be exact. So he's already been here." After searching the rest of the computer and coming up empty he checked the desk drawers, pulling out a lock box in the bottom right hand drawer. Matt picked the lock on it and opened it to find the journal but no cash. "According to this there should have been about $1500 in here." He closed it back up and replaced it.

"I haven't found anything even vaguely interesting in these files." Hoyt closed the cabinet and they both headed for Masterton's private office. The book shelves lining the walls were completely full. The cop groaned. "You know we have to look through all of these."

"Yep." Matt grabbed a chair and pulled it over next to the book case on the left side of the room as Michael started in on the right. Thirty minutes later Matt spoke. "Bingo."

"What is it?" Hoyt turned to look.

"It's a wad of bills, all thousands. Probably fifty at least." He dropped the money into an evidence bag that Michael held out to him and continued looking. "Wait a minute." He picked up the book in which the pages had been cut to form a hiding place for the money. "_Huckleberry Finn_." Looking further down the shelves he pulled out another book and opened it up. "Uh huh, _Tom Sawyer_. Look for Mark Twain books, Michael…I think that's the secret."

A minute later the cop called out. "_Pudd'nhead Wilson _– I always liked that one_." _He grinned over at Matt. A few minutes further on, both detectives had run out of books to search. "So we're looking at $150,000."

Matt was frowning. "We know he's already been here…" He walked toward the desk. "Why didn't he take it when he was here?"

"Good question." Both men continued searching the room but didn't come up with anything else. "I'm betting Phyllis Wilson didn't know about this money…she probably would have taken it."

"Uh huh…but I wonder something else." Matt had made his way into the bathroom. "And now I've got a good idea why."

"What?"

"He's been working out of this office Michael. And fairly recently…look. This is still damp." He nudged an empty bottle of hair dye. "Wonder how he looks as a blonde?"

"I don't know, but I hope we get the chance to find out soon."

"And now I've got another idea." Matt stood back up.


	4. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER 4**

After making a run back to the police station to get his truck and then back to the office to pick up the surveillance van, Matt returned to Masterton's office. He made a trip past the parking lot to see if he spotted the lawyer, but didn't so the PI turned in and parked. As he exited his vehicle and went back inside the building, he stood looking at the directory as if lost while several people walked out through the front doors. Once the coast was clear he went on down the hall to the door of the office. He picked the lock again and went in, disarming the alarm once more before beginning to plant some of the surveillance devices that he called critters.

The devices, which were marketed under the name of BugBytes, were a product of his collaboration with Derwin Dunlap. Although tiny, the cameras and microphones gave crystal clear images and incredibly good sound and came with an easy-to-use software package. They were now in use by several local, state, and federal agencies. Matt put a couple of cameras in the outer office, three in the lawyer's private office, and one in the bathroom. He also installed a program on both of the computers in the office which would log each keystroke and monitor all of the activities carried out on them. Carefully, he left the building and got inside the van, stepping into the back and sliding the panel closed that separated the driver's area from the back of the van; that way no one would know he was inside. After turning on all of the monitors and checking to make sure he had a clean feed from the critters, Matt settled back and waited. At 7:00 his phone rang. "Yeah, Michael, what's up?"

"Burgers, fries, and a couple of strawberry shakes. Is the coast clear?"

"Yep, I just unlocked the side door for you." He hung up, glad that the cop had brought dinner. A couple of minutes later the door opened and Hoyt stepped inside handing the food over to the PI as he closed the door.

"Anything happen yet?" He took one of the shakes and unwrapped a straw as he looked at Matt.

"Nada. It's been really quiet." The PI pulled a burger and box of fries out of one of the bags and began munching. "I'm surprised you're here."

"Oh, why is that?"

"After the way you cussed me this morning…" He smiled and shrugged.

"Yeah, well…" Michael swallowed a bite of burger and followed it with milkshake. "I have to make certain allowances." He grinned.

"Is that right?"

"Uh huh…since you're from Texas and all and only a lowly PI, I really can't expect too much from you." The cop gave a chuckle.

Matt nodded and grinned. "You're learning." They continued to watch the feed from the critters and chat. After four more hours, they were about to give up until a car pulled into the parking lot. "Hello, we've got company." The two watched as a man got out of the car and went to the door of the office building, unlocked the lobby door, and went inside, relocking the door behind him. Matt pulled out a pair of night vision binoculars and looked at the license plate. "3AUH816."

Michael pulled out his phone and called the department and got the results on the plate. After thanking the officer, he hung up and sighed. "It's the cleaning guy."

Matt cursed under his breath. Rubbing his eyes, he looked up at Michael. "If we're going to keep eyes on this place and have someone here 24/7, we're going to need help." The cop nodded. Looking back up at the screen, Matt pointed. "Maybe not - he's in Masterton's office." They both watched as the janitor slipped into the lawyer's private office and went to the book case.

"He knows." Hoyt and Matt exchanged a look and headed for the door of the van.

"He's also about to know that we've been in there and took the money." Matt sprinted across the parking lot and went around to the back of the building while Hoyt stood by the front door, waiting in case their target came out that way.

When he had been planting the critters earlier, Matt had rigged the window in the bathroom of the office so that he could get back in without setting off the alarm. As he slid inside, he could hear the man cursing. Quietly, he stepped into the office and watched as the man rifled through the books, at last turning and facing the PI who had his Glock leveled. "Howdy. Have a seat there." He motioned toward a chair and the scared looking man had a seat. Matt pulled out his phone and called Michael, telling him to come in through the window. As he waited, the PI leaned against the desk, still holding the man at gunpoint. Michael came into the room a couple of minutes later. "We need to have a chat."

"Who in the hell are you guys?" The janitor looked like he was ready to have a heart attack as Michael flashed his badge.

"Stand up." The lieutenant frisked the man and pulled his wallet from his back pocket. "Sergio Caldara. What are you doing here tonight?"

"I'm a janitor – what the hell do you think I'm doing?"

"Rifling through books looking for money." Matt spoke up. "Are you working for Masterton?" At the mere mention of the lawyer's name, the janitor went pale. He didn't answer. "Do you realize you're looking at a possible accessory to murder charge – just to start with?"

"Un uh – I didn't kill anybody." He looked between the two men. "He's got my wife and kid – if I don't come back with the money he's gonna kill them."

The two detectives looked at each other and Matt put the Glock back in his waistband. "Where?"

"At my house. He showed up this morning and told me that if I wanted my family to live I had to come here tonight and get some money that he left here. There's supposed to be $150,000 in here but I can't find it anywhere."

"That's because it's already been taken into evidence." Hoyt leaned against the desk next to Matt.

"You gotta help me – he's going to kill them if I don't bring it to him!" The man broke down.

"When are you supposed to give it to him?" The PI started pacing.

"I've got to be there with it by 1:30."

"Michael, we need a plan – and fast." He walked back over. "Where is your house?"

"Hancock Street – Lincoln Heights."

"Alright." Matt turned to the desk and picked up a pad of paper and a pen. "Draw us a sketch of the house." Caldara at first looked at the PI like he was nuts, then Hoyt who nodded and pulled out his phone, calling Lee Jenkins and Carl Trenton, two of the detectives in his office.


	5. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER 5**

By 12:30 that night, Matt and Hoyt and the rest of the team that they had assembled were ready to take down Masterton. Most of the houses in the quiet working-class neighborhood were already dark. As Trenton and Jenkins got into position at the back of the house, Hoyt and Houston waited in Matt's truck a couple of houses down the street. Caldara pulled up and parked his car in front of his house and headed up the front walkway, carrying a backpack that contained $150,000 – not the money that the two detectives had retrieved from Masterton's office, but money that Matt had supplied to keep Masterton convinced that they weren't on to him. After Caldara entered the house, Matt and Michael moved quickly up the street and onto the front porch. Peeking in the front window, Matt could see that Caldara's wife and son were tied up in a pair of armchairs in the living room. He nodded at Hoyt and stood back up as the cop kicked in the front door. "POLICE! FREEZE, MASTERTON!" The pair rushed into the house as the lawyer pointed the gun at the child's head. Trenton and Jenkins burst through the back door of the house.

"One more step and I blow the brat's head off." He gave the pair a greasy smile as he reached down and cut the ropes on the child. The boy, who looked to be about eight years old, was terrified, his gaze darting between his father and the two detectives as Masterton grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and pulled him in front of him.

"Real classy, Masterton – using the kid for a shield." Matt's pistol was trained on the lawyer's head.

"Yeah well, it's getting the job done." He waved his pistol in the direction of the two detectives who had come through the back door. "Get in there with your friends." Jenkins looked to Hoyt, who shook his head no.

"We're not moving anywhere. Drop your gun." Trenton and Jenkins both had the lawyer in their sights.

"I'm telling you, I'll kill the little brat…" The lawyer changed his grip to the boy's hair and painfully yanked his head back.

Just then the boy hauled off and kicked the lawyer in the shin, momentarily throwing him off balance and causing him to release his grasp on his hair, and he took off running for his dad. As Masterton made a dive for the boy, Matt dove for the lawyer, knocking him to the floor before punching him in the nose. Blood spurted from his face as Masterton brought the pistol in his hand up to Matt's head and the PI quickly smacked him in the face again – this time with his Glock. As the lawyer lost consciousness the pistol dropped from his hand and clattered on the floor. Lee Jenkins moved in and cuffed the man while Matt pulled a knife from his pocket and released Mrs. Caldara from the ropes.

Turning to face the boy, Matt grinned. "You did good, bud." He high fived the boy.

At 2:00am Matt parked his truck in the driveway outside his house and made his way inside to find CJ curled up in his recliner waiting for him. He leaned down and kissed her cheek, causing her to wake up. "Married men aren't supposed to keep such late hours." She grinned up sleepily at him.

"What if I told you that we got Masterton?"

"I'd say good. What happened?" She followed Matt back to the bedroom as he explained what had happened that night, all the while stripping out of his clothes. By the time he finished the tale, he was climbing into the shower. "Since it was for a good cause, I'll let you slide on the curfew violation." She yawned and headed back into the bedroom, crawling into the bed as Matt chuckled under the steamy water.


End file.
